The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with Felicity Cain

The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with... is series of interviews between design practitioners, scholars, and educators. The latest iteration of the series, from December 2025, features conversations with three designers and place-makers from different backgrounds and points of view: Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, Felicity Cain, and Soraya Hosni.

In this three-part series, each speaker alternately serves as interviewer and interviewee, discussing the influences, experiences, and projects that have shaped their approach to the architecture of place.

The Architecture of Place series is a collaboration between the ICAA, INTBAU, and The King's Foundation.

In this installment of the winter 2025-2026 Architecture of Place series, Manvendra Singh Shekhawat interviews Felicity Cain.

Felicity Cain is an architect and urban specialist whose work explores the intersection of cultural heritage, reconstruction, and the right to place. She currently serves as Deputy Country Director for UN-Habitat in Syria, leading programmes for the urban and housing sector recovery of historic cities across Syria.

Before her work in Syria, Felicity spent seven years in Afghanistan, where she lead heritage rehabilitation and artisan-led regeneration projects in Kabul’s Old City and the Bamiyan Valley with Turquoise Mountain. She has also previously worked with the UN, NGOs and private sector across Asia and the Middle East. Her interest lies in the importance of cultural heritage in guiding recovery efforts in post-conflict and crisis-affected contexts.

Presented as part of The Richard H. Driehaus Curricula for the Built Environment at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation for its generous support of this program.

Tags: architecture of place, recorded event, architecture of place in conversation with, world of classicism, sustainability